PUNE: Filmmaker Umesh Kulkarni won another honour when his critically-acclaimed Marathi film, Vihir', won the best film award' at the tenth edition of the Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival in New York on November 15. Mohan Agashe, one of the film's actors, received the award on behalf of Vihir's team from acclaimed writer Salman Rushdie.

The film was nominated at MIAAC for best screenplay and best director as well. In the last one year, Vihir' has made its presence felt at prestigious international film festivals like Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovaki, Busan in South Korea, Berlin and Rotterdam, to name some, besides winning awards at several other film festivals.

"This latest achievement has led to a surge in the confidence of filmmakers like me who want to make this kind of cinema that has its dedicated audience and that can fetch a good amount of recognition as well," said Kulkarni.

He added that a new breed of filmmakers, especially in regional cinema, is carving its niche and gaining acceptance. "This can be seen especially in Marathi cinema. A new kind of cinema is defined by people who are succeeding in balancing between what they want to show and what the audience wants to see," said Kulkarni.

Vihir' is a story of two adolescent boys Sameer and Nachiket (cousins who are best friends) standing on the crossroads of life. The film also starrs Aalok Rajwade, Madan Deodhar, Girish Kulkarni (who also co-scripted the film), Jyoti Subhash and Sulabha Deshpande.